A number of tasks, such as ball localization in a football, or soccer, match, presuppose knowledge of the positions and/or orientations of objects. In a football match, one of the most controversial topics is whether or not in critical situations the ball has crossed the goal line. To this end, it is necessary that the position of the ball at the goal line may be measured with an accuracy of approximately +/−1.5 cm.
Positioning, or ball localization, may be effected, for example, by means of magnetic fields which may be generated in the vicinity of the goal area, e.g. by means of coils at and/or in the goal posts. If a game device, or a ball, exhibits a magnetic-field sensor, a statement may be made, on the basis of determining the field strengths of the magnetic fields generated by the coils, as to whether or not the ball has crossed the goal line.
Since in a football match, a football may reach speeds of up to 140 km/h, it should be possible, for position measurement in order to make goal decisions, to determine a position of the ball with a very high level of accuracy, particularly in the vicinity of the goal. For example, this necessitates activating a high sampling rate of a reader for reading out the magnetic-field sensor for detailed and exact measurement of the magnetic field in the goal area.